Broken Glass, Broken Dreams
by raptoregg64
Summary: Sequel to A Week of Coricopat and Jemima. Everyone's favorite couple is forced to start their own tribe when they are ousted from the Junkyard... but they soon learn that it has more risks than rewards. Upper end of T for angst & masochism.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Um… I don't have much to say right now except that this'll mostly be in Cori's POV, like last time, and it's set about a year later. Enjoy!**

**Oh, and just a warning- you may want to keep a box of tissues handy for this fic…**

**~BGBD~**

"_I'm going to lash the bamboo rods together like this to make a windsurfer, which I'll use to sail to that island…"_ My mate and I watch intently from the sofa as the survival expert on TV constructs various objects out of bamboo and palm leaves. It's really very interesting- for a human, he's pretty cool.

"Hey, Cori?" Jemima asks, nuzzling me gently.

"Yes, love?"

"We should do that someday." I give a wry, slightly sad smile. I know that she's not talking about making a bamboo windsurfer.

Jemima and I have had a very… strenuous… relationship. Her parents never approved of me, and had raised a huge hissy fit when we became mates two months ago. Then before that, there had been our temporary break-up, a pregnancy scare, and… well, we wrote it all down, if you want to go read it.

I nod.

"Find some nice, deserted island… settle down... raise a family…" I sigh. "I suppose that's expanding a bit on what he's doing, though. He's trying to get off the island, and we're trying to get on…"

Jemi snuggles in closer to me.

"Cori… why does my dad hate you so much? Even though you did all those things that _proved_ you're a good tom? Like warning him about those Pollicles!" Her face tenses, her brows knitting together in an expression that I've seen far too often lately. "He would have been killed if it weren't for you!"

I sigh again.

"I don't know, Jems… I think it's just the idea of someone being mated to his only daughter… and that tom being me just makes it worse." I try and smile at her. "But I have you and Tanto- that's all that matters to me." I press a kiss to her forehead. "Now, let's get back to watching Bear. I think the show's almost over."

**~BGBD~**

**I'm not so happy with how it's beginning, but I couldn't really figure out what to write for the TV thing…**

**It'll get better (and sadder) later, though!**


	2. Chapter 2

I stare at the gate of the Junkyard, my mind unable to comprehend what has just happened.

"He… he… he exiled us," Jemi whispers, clinging to my arm. "My own fath-" She almost says "father," but then remembers why we had been exiled.

**~BGBD~**

"_I can't believe I'm related to you!" Jemima screamed after Munkus had delivered a particularly scathing speech on exactly_ why _we shouldn't be together. "How in Heaviside are you supposed to be my father?"_

_The strange thing is, _Demeter_ was the one who burst into tears next._

"_M-Mum?" my mate whispered, and I gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders._

"_Munk, we have to tell her," the golden queen pleaded, completely ignoring us. The tabby tom frowned._

"_It's your choice, Deme."_

_Demeter sighed, turning to us._

"_Munkustrap… isn't actually your father, sweetheart." Her mouth wobbled slightly as she continued. "Macavity is."_

**~BGBD~**

"It'll be okay, guys," Etcetera tells us shakily. "You've got us, at least." She gestures to the other exiled cats- Tantomile, Tumblebrutus, Mistoffelees, and Electra.

Tanto nods, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"We'll make our own tribe," she offers. "We'll be safe and happy…" She smiles slightly, and I attempt to smile back.

Although, I can't help but think that we wouldn't be in this mess if I hadn't fallen in love with Jemima…

"Don't start thinking that it's your fault, Cori," my mate warns me, looking at me sternly. "Because it isn't."

"But I've made everyone else outcasts, too," I whisper. Electra's expression forms into one that's similar to my mate's.

"We decided to support you two against the wishes of the elders," she states factually. "It was our decision to follow you into exile, as well." She gestures for us to follow her. "C'mon, guys- I know a place where we can stay…"

And, just like that, we've separated from the Junkyard Jellicles.

**~BGBD~**

**I'll try and get the next chapter up today, too… I might not be able to, though.**

**I apologize for the shortness- I'm desperately trying to catch up!**

**Please review! :D**

**Oh, and I forgot this:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cats, or Man vs. Wild (the show that Cori and Jemi were watching.)**


	3. Chapter 3

I look around at our new home, watching as my tribe finds their own dens among the abandoned boxes in the warehouse. I hear the boats passing by on the River Thames, and, if I look outside, I can see its murky waters.

"Alright, let's get this place organized," Jemi decides, grabbing a pencil and paper. "First, we need to list everyone's Types."

I groan. I had never seen the point in listing all of the tribe's Jellicle Types.

"Well, I'd say that Tumble's a Pragmatical Cat," my mate says, ignoring my groan. She sits down next to me, and begins scribbling away, not paying any attention to me at all.

After a few minutes, I glance over at the paper to see what she's written.

_Tumblebrutus- Pragmatical Cat_

_Etcetera- Fanatical Cat_

_Electra- Statistical Cat_

_Mistoffelees- Clerical Cat_

_Tantomile- Delphic Oracle Cat_

I raise my eyes to meet my mate's.

"And what Type am I?" I ask kiddingly.

"I'm thinking Mystical Cat," the calico queen replies seriously. I try not to grin mischievously as I plant kisses along her jawbone.

"Are you sure I'm not a Romantical Cat?" I purr, taking her hand and kissing that, too. Jemi blushes slightly, and bats my hand away. I nuzzle her shoulder.

"Aww, Jems, don't you like the attention?" I tease, kissing her again. Someone- I think it was Tumble- wolf-whistles.

"Get a room, guys!" Tanto yells kiddingly as I continue kissing Jemima, despite the fact that she constantly pushes me away.

A few minutes of turning my dear mate an even brighter shade of pink later, I stand up, bow extravagantly, and leave without a word.

The next day, I check the paper again. It now has two more entries-

_Jemima- Pedantical Cat_

_Coricopat- Mystical Cat_

I sigh.

What does a tom have to do to be labeled a Romantical Cat?

**~BGBD~**

**Okay, this one was also pretty short… but it was all I could think of for the prompt. :P And this'll be just about the only non-angst-filled chapter in the whole thing…**

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

"We still need to find somewhere to sleep that doesn't smell like fish, find food, find drinkable water…" I watch, concerned, as Jemima babbles on about how we still have so many things to do.

"Jems," I interrupt, placing a hand on her shoulder. She swivels around to face me, looking like she's about to explode from stress.

"Cori, _we're wasting time!_ We're the leaders of a tribe now- we have to take care of them! We have to have long-term contingency plans! We have to-"

"Jems," I repeat, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "Slow down. You're stressing out too much." She wraps her arms around me, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I know, love…" she whispers brokenly. "But… I've never had so much responsibility before…" The calico queen looks up at me.

"This is what Da- Munkus was trying to prepare me for, and _I'm not ready! _I don't know what we'll do tomorrow-"

"Why can't you just live life?" I ask her, cutting her off again. "Forget about tomorrow! The only thing that matters is _here_ and _now._" I kiss her again. "Didn't you once tell Cetty that 'Tomorrow's problems can wait for tomorrow'? Where's the queen who said _that?"_ Jemima smiles sadly.

"She's buried under a mountain of commitments," she replies, with a twinge of wistfulness.

"Then let's do something entirely irresponsible," I whisper, cupping her face in my hands. I see a hint of a smile appear on her face.

"Like what? Bungee jump off of the Parliamentary Clock Tower?"

I roll my eyes.

"Okay, that proves you're stressed. You just called Big Ben by its _official_ name!" I grin. "I was thinking that you and me could go out and grab something to eat from that fish-and-chips stand tonight. The one by Tower Bridge?" I finally see the last traces of worry disappear from my mate's face.

"That sounds wonderful, Cori. But I think you meant to say 'You and I,'" she corrects playfully.

"Beware, citizens of London!" I exclaim, turning to face an imaginary audience. "We've unleashed a Grammar Nazi on the world!"

**~BGBD~**

"You can open your eyes now," I tell Jemima after dropping the bag of fish n' chips onto the concrete roof.

She gasps as the magnificent scene of London at night unfolds itself before her.

"Cori, where are we?" the calico asks, beaming at me. "This is beautiful!"

I smile, kissing her.

"We're on Jermyn Street. This is the roof of the Cavendish Hotel." I turn to look out at my city.

"Look, you can see the London Eye," I point out. It glitters brightly against the backdrop of the darkened sky, standing out among the other twinkling lights. They look almost like fallen stars…

My train of thought changes Jemi snuggles against me.

"Thank you, love," she whispers. "This was exactly what I needed."

**~BGBD~**

**Originally, I was just going to cut it off at the Grammar Nazi part, but then I decided to end it with something sweet and romantic. **

**Wow… this is turning out less angsty than I thought it would! The next chapter (which I'm having slight Writer's Block on) will, undoubtedly, be angstier. And all the ones after that.**

**So bring tissues.**


	5. Chapter 5

A week passes, and we finally start settling into the warehouse. The fish smell doesn't seem quite as bad as it had before… we find some places to eat… Life seems to be taking a turn for the better.

Until a knock comes from the door to the warehouse, and I look up from the crates I'm inspecting.

"Who's there?" I call, and dozens of _filthy_ rats swarm into the warehouse. Everyone lets out a collective shriek as they began biting at us.

"Macavity wants your territory, kitties," the largest rat rasped, slashing at my cheek. "What Macavity wants, Macavity gets!"

"Not in this case," I retort, gritting my teeth.

The fight drags on, and time seems to slow down and speed up at varying intervals- a highly unnerving effect.

"Jems!" I bellow, looking for her. "Jems, where are you?"

"I'm here!" she replies from across the room. She deals with the wharf rats one at a time, carefully picking them off. I quickly turn back to my own opponent, satisfied that she can take care of herself.

I don't know how long we've been fighting; all I know is that the rats eventually take off as suddenly as they arrived.

"Is everyone okay?" I call shakily.

"Yeah," five voices reply.

But there's one missing- one immediately noticeable, because it suddenly feels like I'm being torn in two…

"C-Cori?" my sister whispers, a grotesque gash splitting her side open. Her blood spills out onto the floor, staining it crimson.

"Tanto!" I shriek, rushing over to her as she collapses. _"Tanto!"_

She gives a small, sad smile as she clutches my hand.

"I'm dying, Cori," she murmurs softly. I have to strain to hear her.

"No, no, we'll get Jenny, or Jelly, or-"

Tantomile cuts me off.

"It's t-too late, brother." She squeezes my hand tightly as tears stream down my cheeks. "Be strong… for me?"

"Of course," I whisper, just as her grip slackens, and I feel her slipping away into nothingness…

… _oh, Bast, what's that noise? _I think as I hear someone screaming at the top of their lungs, like their heart is being ripped out, piece by piece.

Then I realize something- it's _me_ screaming like that.

**~BGBD~**

**I'm not happy with how the fight scene came out. I'm rather happy with the tragically angsty death scene, though… I just wish I could've made it longer.**

**I really, really hate writing fight scenes.**

**Like, I despise it.**

**And I suck at fight scenes.**

**Badly.**

**And I'm just going to end this angry rant now, before it gets longer than the actual chapter…**


	6. Chapter 6

**The rest of the story will be from Jemima's POV, as Cori's too traumatized to tell it…**

**~BGBD~**

A hundred.

A hundred pieces of glass- at least, it seems like a hundred- fly against the brick wall as Coricopat smashes his fist into the mirror, teeth clenched.

And my heart shatters into a hundred pieces as I watch him pick up one of the pieces, looking at it with a strange kind of curiosity.

"Cori, don't-" I whisper worriedly as he raises it above his wrist, plunging it down before stopping just above his skin. He flings the glass away with a hoarse sob, and it clatters to the ground.

I quickly rush over to my mate, holding him as he dissolves into tears.

This has been our routine for the past month- ever since Tanto died, he's been as fragile as the glass he had just been holding.

"Shh, love, it's okay," I whisper, even though I know that it's _not_ okay. And I'm not sure if it'll ever be okay again…

I had been hoping that our small excursion to the train station would make Cori feel better- he had looked up to Skimble when he was a kit- but it had, unfortunately, had the opposite effect.

Because I had forgotten that Tantomile had wanted to become the next Railway Cat.

"Look at all these people, Jems!" he cries bitterly, indicating the dozens of people flowing past us in a river of bodies. Even more stepped off of the trains, none more remarkable than the rest.

I nod, not knowing what he's getting at.

"And how many of them _really _know each other?" Cori asks sullenly, turning to me. "Like how we know each other… how Tanto and I knew each other… how many of them know each other in and out, soul-to-soul?" I sigh.

"Not many of them," I reply softly. He doesn't reply at first.

"_Another hundred people just got off of the train_," my mate sings at last, his eyes narrowed at the passing people.

"_And came up through the ground,_

_While another hundred people just got off of the bus_

_And are looking around_

_At another hundred people who got off of the plane_

_And are looking at us_

_Who got off of the train_

_And the plane and the bus_

_Maybe yesterday…" _He suddenly stands up, perching on a dumpster.

"_It's a city of strangers," _Cori sings, becoming unintentionally louder.

_Some come to work, some to play._

_A city of strangers!_

_Some come to stare, some to stay._

_And every day_

_The ones who stay_

_Can find each other in the crowded streets and the guarded parks,_

_By the rusty fountains and the dusty trees with the battered barks,_

_And they walk together past the postered walls with the crude remarks…_

_And they meet at parties through the friends of friends who they _never_ know._

'_Do I pick you up or do I meet you there, or shall we let it go?'_

'_Did you get my message? 'Cause I looked in vain-'_

'_Can we see each other Tuesday if it doesn't rain?'_

'_Look, I'll call you in the morning or my service will explain…'_

_And another hundred people just got off of the train…" _The silver tabby sits down again, his head in his hands. I wrap my arms around him in a gentle hug.

"_And another hundred people just got off of the train…" _I sing, joining him.

"_And another hundred people just got off of the train,_

_And another hundred people just got off of the train,_

_And another hundred people just got off of the train,_

_Another hundred people just got off of the train…"_

**~BGBD~**

**The song's Another Hundred People, from Company. It's actually sorta praising New York, and originally sung by a woman, but I transformed it into Cori remarking about the nature of big cities… or just London.**

**Yeah. I'm tired. And I'm listening to happy music, which doesn't help me write angst. :P But the music from Hair is JUST SO CATCHY!**

**Oh, and please vote in the poll on my profile. **** Much thanks!**

**Please review, because I think I just fell into one of those self-conscious pits of despair (the stupid things keep popping up in front of me all the time!) and I'm having my doubts about how good this story is.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Shut up now!" I scream. My tribe gives me strange- almost frightened- look, before moving out of the den. I collapse, before hearing a small, shaky whisper directed at me.

"J-Jems?" my mate asks, crawling over to me. "I- I'm sorry…"

I sniffle, wiping away a tear that had managed to trickle down my cheek.

"It's not your fault, love," I tell him softly. "The tribe shouldn't have crowded you like that… and I shouldn't have yelled at them."

"It's not your fault, either," Cori replies, sounding almost like his old self. "And… the tribe was just trying to help me… I shouldn't have burst out crying, though." He sighs, putting his arms around me. "It's all too much for us. They'd be better off with the Jellicles, I say…"

I look up at him. I had been unwilling to admit it before- it hurt my pride to think that I had failed, after all those years of Munkus training me for leadership- but he's right. I tell him so.

"I think that it's partially my fault," he murmurs. I shake my head in a no.

"How could it possibly be your fault, Cori?"

"When Tanto… died… I wasn't any help. And I put even more stress on you and the tribe…" I give a soft, sad smile, and press a kiss to his lips.

"Oh, Cori," I murmur. "We had plenty of stress, even with your… erm… emotional breakdown." I sigh, meeting his gaze. "We could always go ask for forgiveness? From the Jellicles?"

He's silent for a moment, and then gives a small, uncertain nod.

"Yeah. That- that's a good idea."

And for once, I think that maybe- just maybe- things are starting to get better…

**~BGBD~**

**I'm terribly sorry for the length, but I kinda wanna leave their reunion with the Jellicles for the sequel…**

**Which will probably come next Jellicle Week. **

**Please leave a review!**


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